Making Your Life Kira-Kira

Kira-Kira, which means "glittering" in Japanese, is a book about a Japanese-American family’s life in Iowa and Georgia. The main character of Kira-Kira, Katie Takeshima, and her family used to live in a Japanese community in Iowa. After their moving to Georgia, their lives changed a lot. First, people started to stop on the street to stare at them because they were minority in this region. They were also discriminated against in all respects. Second, Katie’s mom gave birth to a little boy, Sam. Katie loved him so much and took good care of him just as Lynn, who was her older sister, had before. Third, Lynn got anemia and lymphoma, falling ill seriously. This also made the whole family fall apart. Although Lynn passed away in the end, Katie would take on the responsibility to remind everyone that the future is still full of hope.

In my opinion, the most memorable element of the book is Katie and Lynn’s relationship. Without a doubt, Lynn was more mature and intelligent than Katie. I guess that may be the reason why their parents didn’t tell Katie important things such as that they were moving to Georgia or that her mother was pregnant, and only left these up to Lynn. I think her parents are partial, just like my parents. They always give my sister better resources. As a consequence, she occupies my parents’ love and attention, but takes it for granted and never cherishes it. That’s why this part made a strong impression on me, for I can relate to Katie in many ways.

In addition to the sisterhood, prejudice is another essential part of the book. When moving to Georgia and stopping at a small motel in Tennessee for accommodation, Katie’s family were denied a room at the front desk. This phenomenon surely shows how Japanese are prejudiced against in America. In fact, prejudice is not only limited to the Japanese in America. Black people and disadvantaged social groups are also prejudiced against everywhere. They are made fun of, discriminated against, and even bullied. Prejudice exists in every corner, but everyone should be equal.

I also respond sympatherically to the workers that were exploited in the book, since my mother used to work extra hours. She wouldn’t go home until midnight, and this did great harm to her health. The same goes for the workers at the hatchery in Kira-Kira. They worked all the time and seldom took time to relax, not to mention having fun. Most workers in Taiwan have similar working conditions. They often work overtime but don’t get paid, and this even causes plenty of lawsuits. I think it is time that legislators should enact better laws to protect the worker’ rights.

From this book, I have learned to live with a positive attitude. The story may seem ordinary, but the message it wants to convey is marvelous. Going through their family member’s death, Katie’s family successfully made their lives kira-kira. There is no denying that life is full of hardships and adversity. Despite this, we can’t lose our faith. As Helen Keller said, “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” If we confront frustration bravely, we will find that it is not as difficult as we thought before. After all, every cloud has a silver lining.